


Trees

by friendshiplonely



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Art, Cults, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Love Confessions, M/M, Not Dark, Songfic, Trees, artist, based on trees, josh is an artist, tyler is in a cult
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 11:18:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8100427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friendshiplonely/pseuds/friendshiplonely
Summary: The fic where Tyler is part of a cult in the forest and Josh is an artist who so happens to run into him. Based on the song trees





	

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy

It was evening. The really sweet time when the sky was a dull lavender or something. Josh really couldn't tell because the color is something you couldn't describe. It was sleepy and dull. It was beautiful. Josh wasn't running, but he wasn't walking either. He was jogging into the forest for whatever reason. His parents didn't really care if he went into the forest or not, even if slender man really did live there. At least slender man could give him new ideas for art projects right? In fact, that was the very reason why he was going into the forest anyway. He wanted to get new inspiration, and the best place was to do it there. A place filled with gorgeous trees and if you go deep enough, you'll even find a nice little lake that was clear. Maybe that's where we was going to head. Or maybe not. He couldn't go too off track or he would never be able to get home and I don't know how you, but Josh was not about to eat sticks on the ground just because he got lost in a forest behind his house. Anyway, he kept running until he came to the edge of the forest, and from that point onwards, he just slowly walked. He was appreciating how the forest looked against the dark sky. The stars were almost out, and this was perfect. Good thing he brought a lantern. Like a flashlight would be nice too, but a lantern is more artistic. If he was going to find his way in this forest, he decided to do it with style. 

As Josh walked the path, he saw a little part of the forest he didn't see. There were a patch of wild flowers, so he decided to go towards it. Wouldn't it be beautiful if he were to draw those? Josh took out his phone really quickly and snapped a few pictures. Amazing. Suddenly, he heard the leaves rustling. It was probably the wind, but everybody is at least a little bit paranoid when they're alone. So he turned to look up at the trees, and he saw a light. There was a boy (about Josh's age) who was sitting silently on top of the tree with a flashlight. Josh looked at him. And the boy blankly stared back. For a few moments they didn't say anything to each other. I mean what were you suppose to say? Josh wondered who was going to speak first and then he decided just to go ahead and talk. 

"Yo." Josh said politely.   
"I like your face." The boy replied flatly.   
"What?"   
"I mean Hi!" The boy suddenly look aware and threw his flashlight to Josh who quickly caught it. The boy climb down the tree and came face to face with Josh. "I'm Tyler."   
"Josh. Whatcha doing out here on a tree?" asked Josh conversationally.   
"I could ask you why you're here at such a late hour."   
"But I could ask you the same question." The two boys looked at each other and busted out in laughter.   
"Well you see," explained Josh. "I'm an artist and I came out here for inspiration."   
"Oh really?" Tyler asked. "I'm part of a cult." And with that Josh was one second from running away, but he looked into Tyler's eyes and they didn't seem harmful.   
"Yeah? What do you guys do?"   
"We like to stay in the forest during night and we just have campfires and stuff. Nothing too big."   
"And whats the cult part of it?"   
"We follow the teaching of the fabulous Pete Wentz who moved to Chicago last year. He wasn't to make sure nobody trashed this place up. So we keep his wish." Josh thought about this. Maybe this wasn't so bad. He did need inspiration anyways.   
"Well as my duty as an artist, I simply must document you guys!" Josh said with excitement. Tyler thought about this and nodded.   
"You're right! This might be the only chance that comes up for us to tell our true story! Come on! Follow me." 

With that, Josh willingly followed Tyler deeper into the forest. He didn't even think about whether Tyler was a serial killer or whether Tyler was going to do some weird ritual for his cult staring Josh as his sacrifice, but he trusted the boy for some reason. He couldn't believe it, but he liked Tyler's face too. Josh never really dated anybody back home (not that he had a crush on tyler or anything). He was always the loner type and he preferred it that way to be honest. It gave him a chance to work on his art and to just think about things. The less distracted he was, the better. Plus, what if he had to go on a date at a time like this? He wouldn't be able to check out this really cool cult. 

"Here we are." Tyler waved his hand over to a small campfire and a few tents. There he saw two others who greeted the two boys and brought them over to the fire. Josh took how his small notebook and started to write what he observed about his surroundings. Everything was so small and cozy. You wouldn't think this was a cult. Josh blankly listened to Tyler explain to the two other boys that he was going to document them and ask them questions. After the two boys nodded, they sat down and smiled at Josh. 

"Hello, Josh. I'm Brendon. And this is Ryan." He pointed to the boy next to him. "Ask us any questions you like." Josh first asked basic questions like how they started and who exactly was this famous Pete Wentz. One answer really stood out to him though. 

"So what are the rules?" Josh asked writing stuff down.   
"Well basically, you have to protect the forest and you can't fall in love."   
"You can't fall in love?" Ryan shook his head and explained.   
"Pete fell in love with Patrick and never returned to us since."   
"That's why he moved to Chicago?" Josh asked quietly. The three boys nodded sadly. Josh sighed. What a terrible rule to live by. At least he was allowed to love. He couldn't imagine what it was like for these teenage boys not to be able to date or even crush on anybody. What a horrible life, he thought. 

Days passed, and every night Josh would come back to the cult to ask more questions or watch their rituals. It was all quite interesting and it was all written down in his little notebook. But that wasn't the best part. The best part of Tyler. They would always hang out alone and talk about their favorite bands and songs. Tyler also was an artist in his own right. He liked to write poetry and that an art form in itself. The two boys always had something to talk about. 

"So Josh, wanna hear a story?" asked Tyler with a smile.   
"Hell yeah I do!" Josh smiled.   
"Okay so this one day, Brendon was standing in front of this lake right?"  
"Oh wait!" Josh interrupted. "I know this lake. Oh my gosh, we should go." Tyler nodded.   
"You're totally right! Race ya there!" The two boys laughed and ran as fast as they could towards the clear lake. 

The water was fresh and cold. Perfect on a hot summer night. Josh and Tyler both just jumped in with their clothes on and just continuously tried to pull each other under water. Tyler and Josh made eye contact for a second, and with that Josh saw galaxies. Beautiful, beautiful galaxies. There was so much potential. So much potential. For both of them. Tyler inched closer to Josh. They were both face to face and studying each other now. Josh started to blush. Oh no. He was having a crush on a crush-free zone person. Tyler quickly swam to the edge of the lake and left without saying the word. He really fucked up this time, Josh thought. But he was determined to come tomorrow, he wasn't going to make this weird between them. Not at all. 

\--------

"Get out Josh." Tyler said pointing to the opposite direction. "You aren't welcomed here." Just as Josh feared. He really did fuck things up, but Josh couldn't help, but feel disappointed and a little angry. Just because he had a stupid crush on him doesn't mean he should be treated this way. Josh crossed his arms and took a breathe in. 

"Okay fine. I'm going. I'm never coming back. Just because I have feelings for you, doesn't mean you get to treat me like this. Maybe I'm not the only one with feelings." Josh said bitterly. He walked away with a stomp in his step. He was about to cry. Not only was he rejected by his crush, but he just lost his best friend. How could today get any worse? Josh returned home and lied down on his bed with his face down. Who cares about Tyler anyway? He just need to work on his art projects. That's all he needed to focus on. With that, he quietly went to sleep. 

In the morning, Josh woke up and took out a fresh new canvas from his drawer. He took out his art supplies and started sketching an outline for a human. Okay, this was a good start. But as everybody knows, things can become 100 to 0 real quick. Josh sighed and frustration and threw his notebook at the wall. He aggressively started painting Tyler and his beautiful eyes. He couldn't do this anymore. He needed to talk to Tyler. They needed to work this out. 

Josh, that night, quickly took his jacket and headed out to the forest. He marched to the cult's hiding spot. Ryan and Brendon looked at Josh in shock. And then there was Tyler. His eyes were soft and filled with so many stars. 

"I'm so sorry." Tyler came running up to Josh and hugged him. Josh hugged him back.   
"I shouldn't have treated you that way! I'm so, so sorry. Forgive me Josh. You're my friend." Ryan and Brendon looked at each other and shot Tyler a look.

"And I love you. I really, really love you." Josh looked into Tyler's eyes and kissed him for the longest moment ever. It seemed like the whole forest was hushed in silence for this moment. "I loved you from the day I met you okay? And I'm sorry I was too stupid to admit it." 

"I love you too, Tyler." Josh started to choke up.   
"But listen, I can never see you again."   
"Why?"   
"Because of the rules remember? I love you, but I'm stuck in this cult." Josh actually understood for the first time what in the hell Tyler was saying. He understood completely, but it wasn't through his words. It was through his lips. Everything was lost in translation when they kissed, but he understood. This was a goodbye kiss. This was a goodbye kiss. 

"You have to go now. I'm sorry. But I love you and I always will." Josh nodded. He decided not to ask questions this time, because he already knew the answer to most of them. Josh left. 

Tyler stood silently on the trees, looking after him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank You!


End file.
